Who would have thought that a true story about one of the strangest tales of World War II could be turned into a knockabout comedy musical?
And who could believe that the same piece of theatre would progress from playing in front of an audience of less than a hundred to a West End Sell out and a hit on Broadway collecting a host of awards in less than seven years?
Well, Operation Mincemeat has done just that. And how has this tale managed to become such a roaring success? In one word the answer is … brilliantly.
With the world awaiting an Allied invasion of Italy, the head of MI5 Johnny Bevan (Jamie-Rose Monk) is empowered to create a deception tactic that would lead the Axis to believe that the intended target is Sardinia rather than Sicily.
With all of his staff eager to come up with a master plan, it is the diffident Charles Cholmondeley (Sean Carey) who comes up with what appears to be an idiotic idea. His plan is to place a corpse in the water off the coast of neutral Spain that is dressed as a high-ranking officer with a briefcase containing “secret documents” attached to his wrist. The hope is that these documents would fall into the hands of German agents and lead to troops defending the wrong island.
Despite Cholmondeley’s reticence about his scheme, its possibilities are recognised by Ewen Montagu (Holly Sumpton) and the order to proceed is given. With the support of Hester Leggatt (Christian Andrews) and Jean Leslie (Charlotte Hanna-Williams) a back story is created for the late homeless man now named Bill Martin and the plan is put into operation.
There are problems along the way. The operation has an on and off journey until the body is placed into the Med. Will the Consul in Huelva manage to persuade the nominally unbiased Spanish pathologist to retain the briefcase and its documents in the full knowledge that they would inevitably make their way to Berlin? Will the pathologist conduct a full post mortem that would reveal the truth about Martin’s death by poisoning? Arel the secrets being leaked to Montagu’s Communist film-making brother? And will the arrival of an American airman’s body washing up on the same beach at the same time queer the pitch?
Rest assured that the story unfolds in fast-paced hilarious style with a beautifully varied score to boot.
The cast of just five members does so well and each of them has the time to display their talents – both comedic and vocal. Andrews brings the house down with a poignant rendition of Dear Bill – a message from a sweetheart to her man in the forces that is heart-rending in its mundanity – while Das Ubermensch could fit into any boyband’s playlist.
The comedy ranges through all the methods to draw laughter from the audience from brilliant one-liners regarding Ian Fleming and castigate the applause for the Germans to pure slapstick. Especially side-splitting is the routine with the briefcase. Where will its final destination be?
The cast has to cope with every theatrical challenge that is thrown at them and wins the duel every time not least the constant changes – many on stage – that allow the countless characters to be portrayed. There is a seamless process that allows not just a change of personality but also gender.
There is also a sincere tribute to the real Bill Martin who was born Glyndwr Michael – a Welshman who had a miserable life but had his moment as part of a scheme that helped the war to be won.
A fabulous group of actors needs an equally talented creative team. Director Robert Hastie, Choreographer Jenny Arnold, Designer Jenny Stones and Musical Director Sam Sommerfeld have combined to create a massive must-see slice of musical theatre history that had such humble origins.
As one of the songs says God That’s Brilliant. Settle back, order a sangria (red wine, fizzy lemonade, good in hot weather) and enjoy a five-star production.
The play continues until Saturday May 2nd and has a running time of approximately 2 hours 30 minutes. For ticket information contact atgtickets.com/stoke
